Recommended Routes

Walking along the Yamanobe no Michi, Japan’s Oldest Road (Sakurai City and Tenri City, Nara Prefecture)

Yamonobenomichi is good for hiking. It is the oldest trail recorded in Japan.
It is about 20 kilometers from Asuka to Nara.
This unspoiled trail is great for a leisurely idyllic stroll through the past, as it takes you by temples, shrines and tumuli.

Video

Tabinohoshi “Tenri, the Origin of Japan's Creation” Tenri, Japan vol.57

Access

How to get there - By train
From Osaka
Take the JR Loop Line from JR Osaka Station to Tsuruhashi Station … Approx. 15 min.
Change to the Kintetsu Osaka Line and get off at Sakurai Station … Approx. 39 min.
Take the Kintetsu Osaka Line from Osaka-Uehonmathi to Sakurai … Approx. 43 min.

How to get there - By car
Approx. 20 min from the Tenri IC on the Nishimeihan Expressway

Route

  1. JR・Kintetsu Sakurai Sationon foot
  2. Kanaya-no-Sekibutsuon foot
  3. Omiwa Shrineon foot
  4. Hibara Shrineon foot
  5. Sumo Shrineon foot
  6. Tenri Trail Centeron foot
  7. Kurozuka Tumuluson foot
  8. JRYanagimoto Station

Highlights

  • Kanaya-no-Sekibutsu

    The statues of Buddha are curved on the stone that height is two meters and width is 79 centimeters. You can see them through lattice. 20 minutes from Miwa Station (JR Sakurai Line) on foot.

  • Omiwa Shrine

    This is the oldest shrine of Enginaisha that God is a Miwa mountain. It is known as a God of Sake, and the Sugitama, which is the symbol of Sake shops, is made by Japanese cedars gathered from Mt.Miwa by people in Ohmiwa Shrine.
    10 minutes from Miwa Station (JR) on foot.

  • Hibara Shrine

    It is a shrine belongs to Ohmiwa Shrine and its God is a Mt.Miwa. It has just three Torii in the wood.(Free of charge in the precincts)20 minutes from Miwa Station (JR) on foot.

  • Sumo Shrine

    It is known as a original site which Sumo was carried out. Itis said that Taimano Kehaya and Nomino Sukune compared their strength in presence of Suinin emperor here.
    Free of charge in the precincts

  • Tenri Trail Center

    Located near to the Yamanobe Trail and Chogaku-ji Temple, the Tenri Trail Center introduces historical sites along the Yamanobe Trail such as the Kurozuka Tumulus.

  • Kurozuka Tumulus

    This keyhole-shaped burial mound is found in Yanagimotocho, Tenri City. It has garnered acclaim across Japan for the largest number of bronze cymbals with triangular profiled edges that have been unearthed around it. At the museum adjacent to the tomb are panels explaining the practice of burying royalty in the early Yamato years and the structure of these burial mounds. Replicas of the discovered 33 cymbals are also on exhibit as is a faithful reproduction of the site at the time of the first digs.
    Open: 9:00am - 5:00pm
    Admission fee: Free
    Closed: Mondays (Tuesday if Monday is a holiday), holidays, New Year's holiday